Portland Cascade to debut as Oregon’s newest professional sports team

The Portland Cascade will begin play in June at the Hillsboro Ballpark.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon has a new professional sports team — and it’s softball.

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League announced Tuesday that Hillsboro will be home to the Portland Cascade, which will begin play this June. The Cascade will host its home games at Hillsboro Ballpark.

In its inaugural season, AUSL featured four teams — the Blaze, Bandits, Volts and Talons — that toured the country, playing games in 10 U.S. cities. Now in its second season, the league is putting down roots in six cities, including Portland.

The league’s six teams are the Chicago Bandits, Carolina Blaze, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and Utah Talons.

“The athletes are excited about getting into home markets and having hometown crowds,” AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng said. “That’s where you can draw the strongest connections, when you have a consistent presence and fans can get to know who those players are.”

Portland has emerged as an epicenter for women’s sports, with the region continually breaking attendance records in the National Women’s Soccer League for the Portland Thorns. The city is also home to The Sports Bra, the nation’s first bar dedicated exclusively to televising women’s sports.

The Cascade will join Portland’s growing professional sports landscape in 2026, along with the highly anticipated debut of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s newest franchise, the Portland Fire.

“The Pacific Northwest has consistently shown up for women’s sports, and the Portland area is no exception,” said Kim Ng, Commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. “Hillsboro offers the Cascade a community that embraces innovation, inclusion, and high-level competition, making it a natural fit for our league and our athletes.”

The Cascade roster includes former Oregon standout Paige Sinicki, who helped lead the Ducks to the NCAA Women’s College World Series last year. It also features former Washington star Nicole “Sis” Bates, Oklahoma standout Sam Landry and U.S. national team member Kelly Maxwell.

The team will be led by general manager Jami Lopries, the former CEO of Alliance Fastpitch, and head coach Tairia Flowers, who guided Loyola Marymount University to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and won two Olympic medals with Team USA.

“This is a home run for Hillsboro and women’s sports in the Portland metro area,” said Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace. “We are very excited for the Hillsboro Ballpark to be the home of the Portland Cascade. Welcome to Hillsboro!”

Fans can become Founding Season Ticket Members starting Tuesday. Group tickets are also available, with single-game tickets to be released at a later date.